The Hitcher (DVD)
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The story follows clothing-catalog cute couple Jim (Zachary Knighton) and Grace (Sophia Bush), who're driving cross-country for some reason. He's got the pedal to the metal, and she's cranky. It's raining, and what should appear before their wandering wheels? A hitchhiker! (Sean Bean)
Well, nobody hitches anymore. Nobody but raging psychopaths, anyway. So, smart kiddies they, Jim and Grace bypass him and leave him to fend for himself in the wet weather. Of course, The Hitcher isn't sticking that thumb out for nothing, so eventually he catches up with them, they cross paths, and hideous horrors ensue. (If you really care what the flick's about, read my theatrical release review here..)
As for the DVD, I must say the producers of the product made sure it was fully loaded.
Special Features Include:
- Eight deleted scenes
- Road Kill: The Ultimate Car Crash featurette
- Fuel Your Fear: The Making-of The Hitcher featurette
- Dead End: Killing Zachary Knighton featurette
- Chronicles of a Serial Killer mock newscast
Now, when they say "dead end" they're not kidding. Knighton shows us his end in saggy boxers, as he gets up and drags ass from his hotel room to the set for the pivotal scene in which his character gets torn in two via semi-trucks. (No spoilers here… same thing happened in the 1986 original, only it was Jennifer Jason Leigh who got gutted.) Butt of all jokes aside, Knighton seems like a cool guy and it's fun to watch him prepare for his big death scene. (Also, in the deleted scenes, we see more gore as his body's bisected.) This is one video diary that's actually not boring — there's a bit of flair (not 37 pieces, however) to the proceedings.
We also get a behind-the-scenes look at the dummy made from Knighton's likeness; the goo-wizards at KNBN FX (Mike McCarty, Jake Garber, and Harrison Lorrenzana) explain how the mold was made, why there's some extra detail, and describe the mechanics of pulling something like that apart in such a way that the blood and guts will really fly.
I also thought the "chronicles of a serial killer mock newscast" was clever (but an extra on that theme was done better in The Devil's Rejects).
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson
* Don't forget to read our on-set interview with director Dave Meyers.